Vlad the Impaler: A Life From Beginning to End
4/5
()
About this ebook
The character Count Dracula is well-known throughout the world. He is a dark, seductive, pale man wearing a cape. His gaze is quite literally captivating, and he has the strength of ten men. The story, written by Bram Stoker in 1897, has been retold hundreds of times, but is there a historical figure upon whom the character is based? Is there really a Dracula? Many scholars argue that Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is the real Dracula. He was known in western Europe for his cruelty, most especially his penchant for impaling his victims. He is said to have killed somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000 people during his crusade to stop the Ottoman Empire from expanding into eastern Europe. He was equally harsh on the people he ruled and is said to have taken great pleasure in torturing his victims.
Inside you will read about...
✓ Vlad's early life and family
✓ Rise to power: Vlad's first reign
✓ War with the Ottomans, Vlad's main reign
✓ Vlad's imprisonment, third reign, and death
✓ Vlad Dracula's legacy
✓ Vlad the Impaler in fiction: Count Dracula
His story, however, is much more complicated than the oft-reported details of his atrocities would imply. He lived in a time of conflict where many were equally as cruel, and he is viewed as a hero in Romania where he is remembered as a protector of his people. This eBook tells the story of his life and times, and discusses his connection to the fictional Count Dracula, in a succinct, compelling manner, which makes for an entertaining read that is packed with historical information.
Hourly History
At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read. Receive our new eBooks for free every Friday.
Read more from Hourly History
Celtic Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Sagas and Beliefs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Renaissance: A History From Beginning to End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Age of Enlightenment: A History From Beginning to End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Death: A History from Beginning to End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mayflower: A History From Beginning to End Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Vlad the Impaler
Related ebooks
Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDracula's Wars: Vlad The Impaler and His Rivals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vlad Dracula: The Dragon Prince Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDracula's Bloodline: A Florescu Family Saga Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDracula: Essays of the Life and Times of Vlad the Impaler Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The First Vampire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMircea the Old: Father of Wallachia, Grandfather of Dracula Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Plantagenets: A history of England's bloodiest dynasty, from Henry II to Richard III, 1133-1485 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Days of Vlad the Impaler Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSaxons vs. Vikings: Alfred the Great and England in the Dark Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete History of the Habsburg Empire: 1232-1789: The Rise and the Decline of the Great European Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVikings: A Concise History of the Vikings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIvan the Terrible: A Military History Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Alexander The Great: A Life From Beginning To End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fearful Majesty: The Life and Reign of Ivan the Terrible Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Betrayal: The Great Siege of Constantinople Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emperors of Rome: The Monsters: From Tiberius to Theodora, AD 14–548 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wars of the Roses: The conflict that inspired Game of Thrones Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legends of the Middle Ages: The Life and Legacy of Vlad the Impaler Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of Romania Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Essays on Romanian History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of Russia in 50 Events Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark History of the Kings & Queens of Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Annals of Imperial Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War of 1812: A History From Beginning to End Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story of the Goths Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
European History For You
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf: English Translation of Mein Kamphf - Mein Kampt - Mein Kamphf Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jane Austen: The Complete Novels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of English Magic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Violent Abuse of Women: In 17th and 18th Century Britain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Celtic Charted Designs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Negro Rulers of Scotland and the British Isles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Discovery of Pasta: A History in Ten Dishes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related categories
Reviews for Vlad the Impaler
6 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book!
He was a great fighter against Otoman Empire.
Book preview
Vlad the Impaler - Hourly History
Introduction
Movie lovers know the character well: a tall, dark, handsome man, dressed in a black cape, with a penetrating, seductive gaze. Women can’t resist him and men can’t best him. He is as alluring as he is lethal. He is Count Dracula, and he is world-renowned. Irish author Bram Stoker wrote the book Dracula in 1897, but where did Stoker get his inspiration? Is there any basis in fact to the story? Incredibly, in this case, the truth may, in fact, be stranger than fiction.
Stoker drew his inspiration, and the name Dracula, from Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia. Wallachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania situated to the north of the Danube River and south of the southern Carpathian mountain range. Vlad III wrote his name as Wladislaus Dragwyla, but his Romanian patronymic is also written variously as Dragkwlya, Dagulea, Dragolea, and Drăculea. He was the son of Vlad II Dracul. Dracula, with the a
on the end, is the diminutive form of Vlad’s father’s name. The name, Dracul, was given to Vlad II in 1431, the year of his infamous son’s birth, upon his induction into the Order of the Dragon, a monarchical chivalric order established in 1408 by the King of Hungary, Sigismund, to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. The word drac
originally meant dragon, but in modern Romanian, it means devil.
Unlike his fictitious counterpart, who is often portrayed as tall and handsome, Vlad III Dracula was described as a short man who was stocky and strong. He was said to have a long, straight nose, a thin face, and green eyes with bushy, menacing eyebrows. He wore a mustache and had swollen temples that increased the bulk of his head. He also reportedly had a thick neck. His appearance, like his behavior, has also been described as cruel.
By most accounts, Vlad III Dracula, who was also known as Vlad Țepeș which in Romanian means impaler,
was born in Sighişoara, a Voivodeship of Transylvania in what was then the Kingdom of Hungary, but today is part of Romania. He was born in the winter of 1431 in either November or December; the exact date is unknown. His main reign as Prince of Wallachia lasted from 1456 to 1462, a period which coincided with the Ottoman wars in Europe, and more specifically, with the conquest of the Balkans. He had ruled in 1448 after his Turkish allies attempted to install him as Prince, but that coup was short-lived, lasting only two months. He would also rule again beginning in November of 1476, but that too would last just a little over a month, at the end of which he is presumed to have died.
It was during the war with the Ottomans (Turkish Muslims) that Vlad III paradoxically earned both a reputation for cruelty, which gave rise to the moniker Vlad the Impaler, and his revered status as a folk hero for